Federal environmental regulators and the owner of a shuttered aluminum smelter in northwestern Montana have finalized a $57.6 million cleanup agreement for a site that has carried Superfund status for nearly a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday.
The Agreement
The 647-page consent agreement between the EPA and Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) requires the plant’s current owner, Glencore, to fund pollution remediation at the site located roughly two miles northeast of Columbia Falls in Flathead County. Glencore, which acquired the CFAC property in 1999, will also cover past and future response costs incurred by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
Toxic byproducts left behind from decades of aluminum smelting — including arsenic, fluoride, and cyanide — have contaminated the site since its industrial peak. The property was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List, commonly known as the Superfund list, nearly a decade ago.
Before taking legal effect, the agreement must clear a 30-day public comment period and receive approval from the U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Site History and Scope
The Columbia Falls Aluminum Company facility was Flathead County’s largest employer during the 1970s, drawing on regional hydroelectric infrastructure that also helped make Thompson Falls a center of aluminum production in the 1950s. The site’s original owner was Anaconda Copper, and Glencore has held the property for more than two decades.
The Superfund designation covers roughly half of the smelter’s total footprint. One parcel within the site, the 78-acre Teakettle Heights tract south of Aluminum Drive, has been proposed for a 421-unit residential development that would include apartments, townhomes, and single-family homes — making the cleanup’s outcome directly relevant to local housing plans.
EPA Region 8 director Cyrus Western said the agreement reflects a collaborative approach. “In coordination with our federal, state, local and industry partners, EPA is advancing effective, protective solutions that safeguard human health and the environment.”
Glencore President Cheryl Driscoll framed the deal as a step toward broader redevelopment potential, saying the start of active cleanup “reflects a shared commitment by CFAC and local, state and federal partners to position the area for long-term and sustainable reuse.”
What Comes Next
Public comment on the proposed consent decree will remain open for 30 days following the EPA’s announcement. After that window closes, the agreement heads to federal court in Missoula for judicial review before it can be formally adopted and cleanup work can begin in earnest.
The resolution of the CFAC site carries significance beyond environmental remediation. With the Teakettle Heights parcel eyed for nearly 425 residential units, the cleanup timeline will shape how quickly that land can move toward development — a consideration of growing importance in a region that has seen significant population growth and housing pressure in recent years.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has been a key state partner in the process, and Glencore’s obligation to cover the agency’s response costs ensures the state is not left bearing the financial burden of a cleanup tied to industrial activity that predates the current owner’s involvement by decades.
The agreement represents one of the more significant Superfund resolutions in Montana in recent years, drawing together federal regulators, a multinational mining company, state environmental officials, and local interests around a site that once anchored the regional economy and now sits at the center of long-term land-use planning for the Columbia Falls area.
